city government

Danae Columbus: Homeowners lining up for property tax appeals before Board of Review

By |

In an effort to reduce their 2020 property tax bills, thousands of New Orleanian property owners will begin pleading their cases for tax relief to the New Orleans Board of Review on Sept. 17. Homeowners who filed a property tax appeal by Aug. 22 should receive letters next week indicating their appeal date. According to Councilman Jared Brossett, who chairs the council’s review process, the hearings are set for Delgado Community College’s Lac Maurepas Meeting Room in the Student Life Center, 916 Navarre St.

city government

Councilman Jared Brossett: Here’s what you need to know about property tax appeal hearings

By |

District D Councilman Jared Brossett, who chairs the council’s Budget Committee, has issued the following statement regarding upcoming hearing notifications for Orleans Parish property owners appealing their tax assessments:

“As a council member and Budget chairman, I am very concerned about the implications recent increases in property tax assessments will have on homeowners, renters and our affordable housing stock. New Orleans has always been a vibrant community with a diverse mix of socio-economic classes. Rising assessments threaten the fabric of our communities by further aggravating the city’s affordability crisis and forcing term residents out of their homes. With more than 70 percent of New Orleanians spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, it is imperative that we have fair and equitable property tax assessments for the entire city. While it will take time to find the right solutions to these issues, I would like to take this opportunity to educate residents about the next stage in the property tax appeals process.

business

Tennis club proposed for vacant site in Dixon neighborhood

By |

A proposed tennis club in the Dixon area was well-received Tuesday by the City Planning Commission, but it could take a more circuitous route to approval than the developer had planned. The project is the brainchild of Kevin Chaouat, a Frenchman who came to Xavier University six years ago on a tennis scholarship and stayed on as an assistant coach. Chaouat also coaches children and teens throughout the city, and he wants to make tennis more accessible to more people. “Tennis has always been my passion,” Chaouat said. “And when we were looking for an opportunity to extend our program, we were challenged by the shortage of courts in the city.” He decided to develop a tennis club with world-class facilities and instruction, programs for children, and scholarships available to attract a wide range of community members to the sport.

city government

Giarrusso: What comes next for the property tax assessments and appeals

By |

From District A Councilman Joe Giarrusso

My office continues to receive calls and emails from New Orleanians concerned with their assessments. Now that we are past the deadline for formal assessment appeals, I want to be sure people know what comes next. Decisions at the Board of Review, at the City Council and various board and commissions, and the ballot box will all affect the 2020 tax bills. Included below are several slides from my Fall 2019 Tax Considerations Presentation. Board of Review
The New Orleans City Council also acts as the Board of Review (BOR) and has the authority to change only those assessments formally appealed.

city government

City is planning flood-control initiative

By |

Cars again filled neutral grounds as commuters again navigated their routes to avoid flooded streets on Monday, when 3 to 5 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours. And again, cars stalled, traffic slowed or stopped, and businesses flooded despite sandbag barricades. There’s no stopping the rain, but the city is preparing a major flood-control initiative, Ramsey Green, the mayor’s top aide for infrastructure, told Uptown Messenger last week. “The city, together with the Sewerage & Water Board and the corps, is looking at how can we get some answers,” Green said. The Army Corps of Engineers, the S&WB and the city’s Public Works Department are conducting subsurface analytics of the city’s drainage system, Green said, primarily concentrating on areas where drainage is especially slow.

city government

City Reminder: Late fee forgiveness on tickets ends September 3

By |

Residents have until September 3—less than two weeks—to pay certain city fees without penalties or additional fees. The Amnesty Late Fee Forgiveness Program is a three-month program by Mayor Cantrell and the Department of Finance meant to help clear past-due accounts for residents with parking and camera tickets, sales and hotel/motel taxes, code enforcement violations, and library fees. “We appreciate the way our residents have stepped up and taken advantage of this opportunity to clear their outstanding accounts and get a little of their fair share in the process. We’ve seen impressive response across all four areas,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell in a statement to the press. “With the deadline coming, we don’t anyone to miss out.”
According to the Mayor’s office, this is how much locals have saved after the first two months:

$1,021,125 in parking citations
$397,069.49 in sales and hotel/motel taxes
$31,654.50 in code enforcement violations
$113,696.37 in library fees

“We’re seeing more and more residents engaging with this process, whether online, on the phone, by mail, or in person here at City Hall,” said Chief Financial Officer Norman White in a statement to the press.

city government

City restriping crosswalks on Magazine Street

By |

The city’s Department of Public Works contractor Pavement Markings is adding crosswalks and striping this week in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Magazine Street. This work will include new traffic calming measures to allow safer crossing of Magazine Street for pedestrians. Residents and commuters are reminded to use caution when driving, bicycling and walking near construction sites. The construction began Tuesday at 7 a.m. and is expected to take three days, weather permitting. Motorists, business owners, and residents should expect metered parking to be suspended between Harmony and Toledano streets until work is complete.

city government

Danae Columbus: Mayor, council should forgo new taxes until 2020

By |

The math is simple: Higher assessments plus higher millage rates equal higher property taxes. In neighborhood after neighborhood, residents are meeting to learn the ins and outs of filing property tax appeals by the Aug. 22 deadline. “This is obviously a white-hot issue,” said District A Councilman Joe Giarrusso to the more than 400 lake area residents who gathered at St. Dominic’s School on Tuesday night.

business

City launches affordable health care initiative for hospitality workers

By |

Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC), in partnership with 504HealthNet, have launched a program to provide New Orleans hospitality workers access to high-quality, affordable health care at over 50 sites around the city. The new Healthy Hospitality Initiative debuted on Tuesday, August 6, after tourism and health care agencies collaborated with hospitality workers over the past year to ensure the program addresses their needs. The initiative includes a new website, extended clinic hours, and a dedicated team that works directly with the city’s hospitality workers. There are 17 participating health care organizations, operating 58 clinic sites, and one hospital system with five sites that are a part of this initiative. Here are the Healthy Hospitality Initiative sites in the Uptown area:

Daughters of Charity (Carrollton)
3201 South Carrollton Ave.

city government

Entergy, RTA to install solar panels on roof of Willow Street streetcar barn

By |

Entergy and the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority are partnering to install solar panels on the streetcar barn on Willow Street, part of a larger effort to generate solar energy from the rooftops of publicly-owned buildings across New Orleans. For details about the project, see the news release from Entergy below. In another move to harness the power of the sun where empty commercial rooftops once stood, Entergy New Orleans and the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority have reached agreement to install solar panels on the roof of the agency’s Carrollton Streetcar Barn. The 300-kilowatt system will feed directly onto the Entergy New Orleans electric distribution grid for the benefit of all customers. The agreement is part of Entergy New Orleans’ 5-megawatt commercial-scale rooftop solar project, which was approved by the New Orleans City Council last year.